Locally grown produce (was you say tomato)

[Guest guest]



Thanks for this article addressing organic growing methods. I wonder if there is a difference between large-scale organic "mono-crop" farming and small farm methods. Some organic farms in the U.S. are large corporate farms, who operate as a "conventional" farm, but with a different set of chemicals (that aren't toxic).

 

Switching gears .............

 

Have any of you seen studies that focus on "locally grown" produce? We are so fortunate here in Berkeley to have wonderful WONDERFUL Farmers Markets, where we buy a wide diversity of produce grown within approximately a 200 mile radius. This means produce purchased at the Farmers Markets has been picked that day or the day before.

 

Produce sold in grocery stores, for the most part, has been picked before ripened, because the produce is going longer distances. Tomatoes, the subject of the article below, for example, are picked before ripe in order to arrive at conventional supermarkets in sellable condition. Produce traveling from large production farms, sending their produce long distances to major grocery stores, must withstand much more handling than produce being driven to a local Farmers Market. Therefore, it can be picked when ripe, and you can buy a fully-ripened tomato.

 

I'm not telling most of you anything new, but here's my question:

 

what nutrients are available in a fully-ripened fruit or vegetables that may not be present in its unripened state?

 

Do any of you know of studies that have addressed this?

 

I'm sure it's not the same for all produce. Ripened produce often has a different color, flavor, size, aroma, texture (other characteristics?) from unripened. Some produce ripens after picked, some does not.

 

What is the difference between ripening after being picked or before?

 

I can do some research on my own, but if any of you have references to books, articles, websites that answer these questions, I'd love to know about them.

 

Thanks-

Marcy

 

 

 

-

fraggle

vegan chat ; vegan-network ; doomerism (AT) googl (DOT) com ; TFHB ; GardeningOrganically

Friday, July 06, 2007 11:22 AM

you say tomato

 

 

Study finds organic tomatoes contain more heart-healthy antioxidantsCould organic fruits and veggies be better for you? A study of samples collected over 10 years found that organic tomatoes contained far higher levels of flavonoids -- antioxidants that reduce high blood pressure and have also been linked with reduced rates of some cancers and dementia -- than conventional varieties. Researchers from the University of California-Davis say the boost may be related to nitrogen levels in soil, which are affected by the use of fertilizer. However, they hasten to point out that there are plenty of variables in this still-growing field: "For every study that shows there's a difference, there's another that shows there isn't," says researcher Alyson Mitchell. But a rep from Britain's organic certification body, the Soil Association, didn't carrot all about that concern: "These findings ... confirm recent European research, which showed that organic tomatoes, peaches, and processed apples all have higher nutritional quality than non-organic." Just don't tell the kids. straight to the source: BBC News, 05 Jul 2007 straight to the source: The Sacramento Bee, Carrie Peyton Dahlberg, 04 Jul 2007